Last month I had an altercation with a minicab driver. Nothing very unusual in that, but I was so irritated by the incident that I decided to report it to his employer. The results were mixed, but it did take away the powerlessness you sometimes feel as a cyclist.

I was on my way home from work and stopped at a cross roads next to another cyclist inside the zone marked for cycles only. An Addison Lee people carrier pulled up next to us and into the bike zone. Motorists ignoring bike zones happens so frequently that I have given up even bothering to give drivers a hard stare. But my fellow cyclist was less jaded.

She politely told the driver that he should not be occupying the zone (point 178 of the Highway Code states: "Motorists, including motorcyclists, MUST stop at the first white line reached if the lights are amber or red"). The question of what sanctions drivers face for contravening this rule turned out to be a vexed one as I discovered when I phoned the Association of Chief Police Officers (watch this space for another blog on that subject).

But in any case, her intervention unleashed a foul-mouthed rant from the driver about cyclists jumping red lights. He apparently hadn't noticed we were, er, stopped at the red light. I joined in what diplomats would probably call a "full and frank discussion" without resorting to abuse.

Now I realise that all this might come across as rather pious. After all, there are worse sins on the road than ignoring an advanced stop line. But I felt irritated by the driver's dismissive and rude response. I noted down his registration number and wrote a complaint letter to Addison Lee explaining what had happened. I submitted it via their website and by post.

A month went by with no response so I approached the company's press office to ask why. A spokesperson said: "Addison Lee's policy is to reply to complaints within two working days, so we can only apologise for you not receiving a reply." He said he could not find a record of my complaint.

He went on:

Addison Lee investigates all customer complaints to identify and speak to the driver concerned. All complaints are noted in a driver's record and where appropriate, disciplinary action is taken. We expect all our representatives to follow the rules of the Highway Code and uphold a level of professionalism at all times. We also monitor our drivers via roving spot check teams who issue tickets to drivers who are not acting in accordance with our standards. However with 2,500 vehicles in London it is inevitable that issues do arise and we are grateful to the public for reporting any incidents to us so that we can follow up with the drivers and investigate all complaints.

What was the result of that follow up? Well the driver disputed my version of events, saying he was caught in the bike zone when the lights changed. The spokesperson said: "His comments regarding cyclists and red lights were intended to be humorous. He has apologised if he caused offence. We have reminded the driver of the standards of courtesy and professionalism expected of him as an Addison Lee representative." He said that as a result of the incident the company would be issuing a reminder regarding traffic rules relevant to cyclists and driver awareness of cyclists. So, a good result.

He added:

As cycling increases in popularity in the capital we are seeing an increase in incidents between cyclists and motorists across the board ...[Addison Lee] will continue to support any initiatives that help both cyclists and motorists share the roads in a safe manner.